Today's Corner Kick

Silly Season Update: Delph to Man City After All

It’s like Christmas in July for all soccer fans that enjoy silly season with transfers flying left and right. The clubs from the Premier League have been extremely active, and Manchester City recently landed Fabian Delph from Aston Villa. Here are some of the latest deals and rumors from around the soccer world.

Fabian Delph told media last week that he would stay at Aston Villa, but after thinking things over, he will join Manchester City. City paid the release clause in Delph’s contract of $12.5 million. The 25-year-old midfielder made his international debut last year and has six caps for the English national team. Manchester City paid top dollar last week for Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling ($76 million), so Delph is a relative bargain for the club.

City has been looking for English players this offseason as the Premier League clubs needs a certain number of homegrown players in the squad. After losing Frank Lampard, James Milner and Micah Richards, it was clear that some new players needed to come in to fill those spots.

Hamburg SV has signed Swedish international Albin Ekdal. Ekdal has spent seven years in Italy with Juventus, Siena, Bologna and Cagliari. He spent the last four seasons with Cagliari in the Serie A, but after the club got relegated after last season, it was clear that Ekdal wouldn’t follow the club down to Serie B.

HSV has been struggling for a couple of years now, having to play back-to-back relegation playoffs in order to stay up in the German Bundesliga. Ekdal is said to become HSV’s best paid player, and with that comes a lot of pressure. The historic club is the only club to have been in the German top flight since its inception. Ekdal, 25, has a lot of experience from Italy, and has 17 caps for the Swedish national team.

Sky Sports reports that Newcastle United are closing in on Anderlecht striker Aleksandar Mitrovic. The 20-year-old Serbian striker scored 36 goals in 69 Belgian league games. He’s seen as one of the biggest forward talents in Europe. Mitrovic is expected to cost Newcastle around $20 million.

He has already has 13 caps for the Serbian national team, and has also represented his country on the U-19 and U-21 level.

Didier Drogba could become the latest former Premier League star to join a club in the MLS. According to ESPN, the 37-year-old Ivorian striker has been offered a contract by Chicago Fire.

Drogba is one of the most experienced and successful African soccer players of all time, with 65 goals in 104 caps for the Ivory Coast. He’s won four Premier League titles in his two stints at Chelsea and also won a Champions League trophy with the club. He also has a Turkish league title from his time at Galatasaray and was voted African Footballer of the Year twice (2006 and 2009).

Drogba could be another big-name signing for the MLS, as the league has recently seen former Premier League greats like Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard make the jump.

Aston Villa looks to be preparing for life without Christian Benteke. The Belgian striker is rumored to be on his way out, with Liverpool being the hottest lead as they are rumored to be willing to pay the release clause of around $50 million in order to land the 24-year-old striker.

The Birmingham Mail reports that Emmanuel Adebayor is the man manager Tim Sherwood wants to bring in if Benteke leaves. Adebayor has spent the last four years with Tottenham Hotspur, but got his big break in England during his time with Arsenal in the mid 2000s.

Adebayor, 31, has 96 goals in 225 Premier League games. He also has 29 goals in 63 caps for Togo. Adebayor is rumored to cost Villa around $8 million, but the big talking point is Adebayor’s salary. He’s currently making around $156,000 per week in Tottenham and that could be a little too much for Villa.

LA Galaxy has added another big name to the squad as Mexican international Giovani dos Santos is set to join the MLS club. The 26-year-old attacking midfielder came through the academy at FC Barcelona but failed to establish himself in the first team.

After 37 appearances for Barcelona he moved onto the Premier League and Tottenham Hotspur in 2008. Once again, dos Santos failed to establish himself and was sent on several loan spells. He moved to Mallorca in 2012, and after one season he left for Villarreal where he spent the last two seasons and got his career back on track.

He has 90 caps for the Mexican national team and has the potential to take the league by storm like Sebastian Giovinco has done during his first six months with Toronto FC.

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